New Jersey hotelier Bhavesh Patel was named the new chairman of the world’s largest hotel owners association last week. Patel took the reins as the new leader of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association at the group’s annual convention in San Antonio, Texas, last week. U.S. Rep.

“It’s one of the greatest accomplishments of my life to have the opportunity to lead AAHOA,” said Patel. “We have over 16,000 members who own half of the hotels in the country. They’ve placed their trust in me to be their representative on the national stage. I’m excited to take on the responsibility and work to make AAHOA even greater.” Patel said, he wants his tenure to be marked by even greater member engagement in AAHOA’s educational programs, one of the central pillars of the organization’s mission.

“You have to know the ins and outs of running a hotel to be the best you can be,” said Patel. “AAHOA offers so many opportunities to become a better business owner and better hotel owner, including advocacy and knowing what the state and federal governments are doing that affect our industry. I want to continue to expand on and emphasize the importance of these programs with all the different educational platforms we offer and are going to be offering.”

Patel is a Certified Hotel Owner, or CHO, which is AAHOA’s exclusive, nationally recognized certification program for hotel owners and the only program of its kind in the country. In 2016, AAHOA graduated a record 312 new CHOs. Patel is a principal of ADM Hotels, a family-owned, full-service real estate company specializing in hospitality management, development and investments. His portfolio features several multi-brand and independent hotel properties in the Northeast.

Patel has served on the group’s board of directors since 2009 and was elected by the membership to the position of secretary in 2014. The group’s officers are elected to the position of secretary and automatically ascend to treasurer, vice chair and chair annually.

Tom MacArthur, who represents Patel’s hometown of Cinnaminson in Congress, congratulated him on his new role. “A big congratulations to Bhavesh Patel on becoming chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association,” said MacArthur (R, Burlington). “I’ve spoken with Bhavesh many times over the years about how to help our hotel industry thrive and I’m proud to represent him in Congress. I know he’ll be an excellent leader for AAHOA and I look forward to working with him to help support hotel owners across the country and in New Jersey.”

The group’s officers are elected to the position of secretary and automatically ascend to treasurer, vice chair and chair annually. Patel said he wants his tenure as chairman to be marked by even greater member engagement in AAHOA’s educational programs, one of the central pillars of the organization’s mission. “You have to know the ins and outs of running a hotel to be the best you can be,” Patel said.

AAHOA elected a new executive board during the San Antonio convention. Texas hotelier and current North Texas Regional Director Biran Patel was elected as the group’s new secretary. A second-generation hotelier, Patel began his career in the hotel industry as a teenager while his family lived at the hotel they owned. A member for more than 15 years, Patel has served on five AAHOA committees, was previously an AAHOA regional ambassador and has led North Texas as regional director since 2014, according to a AAHOA press release.

AAHOA is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and has a government affairs office in Washington, D.C. The group has more than 16,500 members throughout the country, including more than 470 in New Jersey and 340 in Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1989, AAHOA (www.aahoa.com) is the largest hotel owners association in the world, with more than 16,500 small business owner-members. AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States.